Natural user input for driving interactive stories

ABSTRACT

A system and method are disclosed for combining interactive gaming aspects into a linear story. A user may interact with the linear story via a NUI system to alter the story and the images that are presented to the user. In an example, a user may alter the story by performing a predefined exploration gesture. This gesture brings the user into the  3 -D world of the displayed image. In particular, the image displayed on the screen changes to create the impression that a user is stepping into the  3 -D virtual world to allow a user to examine virtual objects from different perspectives or to peer around virtual objects.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/819,983 filed on Jun. 21, 2010 entitled NATURAL USER INPUT FORDRIVING INTERACTIVE STORIES, which application is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

In the past, computing applications such as computer games andmultimedia applications used controllers, remotes, keyboards, mice, orthe like to allow users to manipulate game characters or other aspectsof an application. More recently, computer games and multimediaapplications have begun employing cameras and software gesturerecognition engines to provide a natural user interface (“NUI”). WithNUI, user gestures and speech are detected, interpreted and used tocontrol game characters or other aspects of an application.

At present, NUI systems are widely used for gaming applications.However, NUI systems to date have not been used as a medium for linearstory telling. A linear story is a traditional, passive, non-interactiveexperience, such as for example provided by traditional televisionprograms, movies and books. Linear stories have for decades been widelyembraced by the general public. Gaming, especially with NUI systems, isrelatively new and has much more limited acceptance to date.

SUMMARY

Disclosed herein are systems and methods for providing an interactivestory experience which combines interactive gaming aspects into a linearstory. The linear story may be watched by a user, start to finish,without user interaction if desired. Alternatively, a user may interactwith the linear story to provide an interactive experience. The user mayinteract with the linear story via a NUI system, which includes acomputing environment, a capture device for capturing user movement dataand providing it to the computing device, and an audiovisual device forpresenting the story.

In one embodiment, a user may alter the linear story by performing apredefined exploration gesture. This gesture, when detected by thecapture device and recognized by the computing environment, brings theuser into the 3-D world of the displayed image. In particular, the imagedisplayed on the screen changes to create the impression that a user isstepping into the 3-D virtual world to allow a user to move aroundwithin a scene, and to explore and examine virtual objects fromdifferent perspectives in the scene, or to peer around virtual objectsin the scene.

In one embodiment, the present system relates to a method of combininginteractive gaming aspects into a linear story. The method includes thesteps of a) presenting the linear story via an audiovisual device usingat least one of images and an audio narrative, the linear story having adefault set of images and/or narrative that is presented to a user if auser does not interact with the story; b) detecting at least one of amovement and a voice command by a user via a capture device; c)identifying whether the movement and/or the voice command detected insaid step b) is an interaction with the linear story that alters thelinear story to include a story branch having at least one of additionalimages and additional narrative not included in the default set ofimages and/or narrative; and d) altering the linear story by presentingat least one of the additional images and additional narrative to a uservia the audiovisual device.

In another embodiment, the present system relates to a computer-readablemedium for programming a processor to perform a method of combininginteractive gaming aspects into a linear story, including the steps of:a) presenting the linear story via an audiovisual device using at leastone of images and an audio narrative, the linear story presented as acomplete story, beginning to end and including a default set of images,in the event no interaction by a user is perceived by a capture devicemonitoring user movements; b) detecting a movement by a user via acapture device associated with the audiovisual device; c) identifyingwhether the movement detected in said step b) is an interaction with thelinear story requiring a modification from the linear story to include astory branch having additional images not included in the default set ofimages; d) determining whether the additional images may be renderedbased on stored or processed data; e) altering the linear story bypresenting the additional images to a user via the audiovisual device ifit is determined the additional images may be rendered in said step d);and f) scoring a user's interaction where the interaction corresponds toawarding or taking away a predetermined number of points based on theinteraction.

In a further embodiment, the present system relates to a system forcombining interactive gaming aspects into a linear story. The systemincludes an audiovisual device for presenting at least one of images andan audio narration; an image capture device for capturing at least oneof image and audio data from a user; and a computing environment coupledto the audiovisual device and image capture device. The computingenvironment operates to a) present the linear story via the audiovisualdevice using at least one of images and an audio narrative, the linearstory presented as a complete story, beginning to end and including adefault set of images, in the event no interaction by a user isperceived by the capture device; b) detect a movement by a user via thecapture device; c) identify whether the detected movement is anexploration gesture; d) branch from the linear story to a story branchupon identifying the movement as an exploration gesture. The branchingincludes the operations of d1) sensing a point on the audiovisual deviceindicated by the user, d2) calculating a 3-D real world vector from aportion of the user to the point on the audiovisual device indicated bythe user, d3) translating the 3-D real world vector to a 3-D machinespace vector having a start point at the current view perspective and anend point at the virtual object in 3-D machine space, and d4) displayingthe virtual object from a viewing perspective at the end point of the3-D machine space vector.

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This Summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subjectmatter. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited toimplementations that solve any or all disadvantages noted in any part ofthis disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A illustrates an example embodiment of a target recognition,analysis, and tracking system for providing an interactive storyexperience.

FIG. 1B illustrates a further example embodiment of a targetrecognition, analysis, and tracking system for providing an interactivestory experience.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example embodiment of a capture device that may beused in a target recognition, analysis, and tracking system.

FIG. 3A illustrates an example embodiment of a computing environmentthat may be used to interpret one or more gestures in a targetrecognition, analysis, and tracking system.

FIG. 3B illustrates another example embodiment of a computingenvironment that may be used to interpret one or more gestures in atarget recognition, analysis, and tracking system.

FIG. 4 illustrates a skeletal mapping of a user that has been generatedfrom the target recognition, analysis, and tracking system of FIGS.1A-2.

FIG. 5 is a high level flowchart of the operation of an embodiment ofthe present technology for providing an interactive story experience.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the operation of an embodiment of the presenttechnology for correlating a voice detected by the capture device withthe interactive story experience.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the operation of an embodiment of the presenttechnology for 3-D exploration of a virtual scene.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the operation of an embodiment of the presenttechnology for a user controlling the actions of an onscreen character.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the operation of an embodiment of the presenttechnology for a user interacting with a scene to alter a plot of theinteractive story experience.

FIG. 9A is a flowchart of the operation of an alternative embodiment ofthe present technology for a user interacting with a scene to alter aplot of the interactive story experience where the scene is presented inpre-recorded video.

FIG. 10 is an example of a user performing an exploration gesture toexplore and investigate virtual objects within a displayed scene.

FIG. 11 illustrates a branching subplot which re-converges to a singlestory outcome.

FIG. 12 illustrates a branching plot which results in one of a pluralityof story outcomes.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a gesture recognition engine forrecognizing gestures.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart of the operation of the gesture recognitionengine of FIG. 13.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present technology will now be described withreference to FIGS. 1A-14, which in general relate to a system and methodfor providing an interactive story experience which combines interactivegaming aspects into a linear story. A NUI system is provided for runningan interactive story application. If run without user interaction, thestory application provides a linear story to a user start to finish.Alternatively, a user may interact with the story application via theNUI system to perform a variety of actions.

In one embodiment, a user may alter the linear story by performing apredefined exploration gesture. This gesture signals to the system thatthe user desires to step into and explore the three-dimensional (3-D)virtual world displayed to the user. Depending on the explorationgesture performed, the displayed image changes to create the impressionthat a user is entering into the 3-D virtual world to allow a user tomove around within a scene, and to explore and examine virtual objectsfrom different perspectives in the scene. A user may also peer behindvirtual objects in the scene to see the back side of these virtualobjects or to examine more closely other objects obscured by theforeground objects.

While exploring within the 3-D virtual world, or by performing othergestures or movements, a user may alter the plot of the linear story. Insuch embodiments, the story application may branch to other subplots andpossibly other story outcomes.

Referring initially to FIGS. 1A-2, the hardware for implementing thepresent technology includes a target recognition, analysis, and trackingsystem 10 which may be used to recognize, analyze, and/or track a humantarget such as the user 18. Embodiments of the target recognition,analysis, and tracking system 10 include a computing environment 12 forexecuting a gaming or other application, such as an interactive storyapplication as explained below. The computing environment 12 may includehardware components and/or software components such that computingenvironment 12 may be used to execute gaming and non-gamingapplications. In one embodiment, computing environment 12 may include aprocessor such as a standardized processor, a specialized processor, amicroprocessor, or the like that may execute instructions stored on aprocessor readable storage device for performing processes describedherein.

The system 10 further includes a capture device 20 for capturing imageand audio data relating to one or more users and/or objects sensed bythe capture device. In embodiments, the capture device 20 may be used tocapture information relating to movements, gestures and speech of one ormore users, which information is received by the computing environmentand used to render, interact with and/or control aspects of a gaming orother application. Examples of the computing environment 12 and capturedevice 20 are explained in greater detail below.

Embodiments of the target recognition, analysis and tracking system 10may be connected to an audio/visual device 16 having a display 14. Thedevice 16 may for example be a television, a monitor, a high-definitiontelevision (HDTV), or the like that may provide game or applicationvisuals and/or audio to a user. For example, the computing environment12 may include a video adapter such as a graphics card and/or an audioadapter such as a sound card that may provide audio/visual signalsassociated with the game or other application. The audio/visual device16 may receive the audio/visual signals from the computing environment12 and may then output the game or application visuals and/or audioassociated with the audio/visual signals to the user 18. According toone embodiment, the audio/visual device 16 may be connected to thecomputing environment 12 via, for example, an S-Video cable, a coaxialcable, an HDMI cable, a DVI cable, a VGA cable, a component video cable,or the like.

As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, in an example embodiment, the storyapplication executing on the computing environment 12 may present any ofvarious story settings. FIG. 1A shows a scene 19 including a house 21,monsters 23 and clouds 25. As explained below, a user may interact withthe scene 19 in a variety of ways. In one example, a user may moveclouds 25 together as shown which may alter the linear story presentedby the story application. For example, moving the clouds together maycause it to rain.

In embodiments, the computing environment 12, the A/V device 16 and thecapture device 20 may cooperate to render an onscreen character 23 ondisplay 14 which is at least partially controlled by the user 18. Asshown in FIG. 1B, the onscreen character 23 mimics the movements of theuser 18 in real world space in a monkey-see-monkey-do fashion. Thus, theuser 18 may perform movements which control the movements and actions ofthe character 23 on the display 14. Moreover, a user may perform certainmovements which are recognized by the computing environment aspredefined gestures. These predefined gestures may cause a controlledcharacter 23 to perform certain actions associated in memory with thepredefined gestures. Predefined gestures may be used to initiate avariety of other actions as explained below.

The scene 19 of FIGS. 1A and 1B is one of many different scenes whichmay be generated by the story application running on computingenvironment 12. Moreover, the system 10 may further be used to interpretuser 18 movements as operating system and/or application controls thatare outside the realm of the story application running on computingenvironment 12.

Suitable examples of a system 10 and components thereof are found in thefollowing co-pending patent applications, all of which are herebyspecifically incorporated by reference: U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/475,094, entitled “Environment And/Or Target Segmentation,” filed May29, 2009; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/511,850, entitled “AutoGenerating a Visual Representation,” filed Jul. 29, 2009; U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/474,655, entitled “Gesture Tool,” filed May 29,2009; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/603,437, entitled “PoseTracking Pipeline,” filed Oct. 21, 2009; U.S. patent application Ser.No. 12/475,308, entitled “Device for Identifying and Tracking MultipleHumans Over Time,” filed May 29, 2009, U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/575,388, entitled “Human Tracking System,” filed Oct. 7, 2009; U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/422,661, entitled “Gesture RecognizerSystem Architecture,” filed Apr. 13, 2009; U.S. patent application Ser.No. 12/391,150, entitled “Standard Gestures,” filed Feb. 23, 2009; andU.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/474,655, entitled “Gesture Tool,”filed May 29, 2009.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example embodiment of the capture device 20 thatmay be used in the target recognition, analysis, and tracking system 10.In an example embodiment, the capture device 20 may be configured tocapture video having a depth image that may include depth values via anysuitable technique including, for example, time-of-flight, structuredlight, stereo image, or the like. According to one embodiment, thecapture device 20 may organize the calculated depth information into “Zlayers,” or layers that may be perpendicular to a Z axis extending fromthe depth camera along its line of sight.

As shown in FIG. 2, the capture device 20 may include an image cameracomponent 22. According to an example embodiment, the image cameracomponent 22 may be a depth camera that may capture the depth image of ascene. The depth image may include a two-dimensional (2-D) pixel area ofthe captured scene where each pixel in the 2-D pixel area may representa depth value such as a length or distance in, for example, centimeters,millimeters, or the like of an object in the captured scene from thecamera.

As shown in FIG. 2, according to an example embodiment, the image cameracomponent 22 may include an IR light component 24, a three-dimensional(3-D) camera 26, and an RGB camera 28 that may be used to capture thedepth image of a scene. For example, in time-of-flight analysis, the IRlight component 24 of the capture device 20 may emit an infrared lightonto the scene and may then use sensors (not shown) to detect thebackscattered light from the surface of one or more targets and objectsin the scene using, for example, the 3-D camera 26 and/or the RGB camera28.

In some embodiments, pulsed infrared light may be used such that thetime between an outgoing light pulse and a corresponding incoming lightpulse may be measured and used to determine a physical distance from thecapture device 20 to a particular location on the targets or objects inthe scene. Additionally, in other example embodiments, the phase of theoutgoing light wave may be compared to the phase of the incoming lightwave to determine a phase shift. The phase shift may then be used todetermine a physical distance from the capture device 20 to a particularlocation on the targets or objects.

According to another example embodiment, time-of-flight analysis may beused to indirectly determine a physical distance from the capture device20 to a particular location on the targets or objects by analyzing theintensity of the reflected beam of light over time via varioustechniques including, for example, shuttered light pulse imaging.

In another example embodiment, the capture device 20 may use astructured light to capture depth information. In such an analysis,patterned light (i.e., light displayed as a known pattern such as a gridpattern or a stripe pattern) may be projected onto the scene via, forexample, the IR light component 24. Upon striking the surface of one ormore targets or objects in the scene, the pattern may become deformed inresponse. Such a deformation of the pattern may be captured by, forexample, the 3-D camera 26 and/or the RGB camera 28 and may then beanalyzed to determine a physical distance from the capture device 20 toa particular location on the targets or objects.

According to another embodiment, the capture device 20 may include twoor more physically separated cameras that may view a scene fromdifferent angles, to obtain visual stereo data that may be resolved togenerate depth information. In another example embodiment, the capturedevice 20 may use point cloud data and target digitization techniques todetect features of the user.

The capture device 20 may further include a microphone 30. Themicrophone 30 may include a transducer or sensor that may receive andconvert sound into an electrical signal. According to one embodiment,the microphone 30 may be used to reduce feedback between the capturedevice 20 and the computing environment 12 in the target recognition,analysis, and tracking system 10. Additionally, the microphone 30 may beused to receive audio signals that may also be provided by the user tocontrol applications such as game applications, non-game applications,or the like that may be executed by the computing environment 12.

In an example embodiment, the capture device 20 may further include aprocessor 32 that may be in operative communication with the imagecamera component 22. The processor 32 may include a standardizedprocessor, a specialized processor, a microprocessor, or the like thatmay execute instructions that may include instructions for receiving thedepth image, determining whether a suitable target may be included inthe depth image, converting the suitable target into a skeletalrepresentation or model of the target, or any other suitableinstruction.

The capture device 20 may further include a memory component 34 that maystore the instructions that may be executed by the processor 32, imagesor frames of images captured by the 3-D camera or RGB camera, or anyother suitable information, images, or the like. According to an exampleembodiment, the memory component 34 may include random access memory(RAM), read only memory (ROM), cache, Flash memory, a hard disk, or anyother suitable storage component. As shown in FIG. 2, in one embodiment,the memory component 34 may be a separate component in communicationwith the image camera component 22 and the processor 32. According toanother embodiment, the memory component 34 may be integrated into theprocessor 32 and/or the image camera component 22.

As shown in FIG. 2, the capture device 20 may be in communication withthe computing environment 12 via a communication link 36. Thecommunication link 36 may be a wired connection including, for example,a USB connection, a Firewire connection, an Ethernet cable connection,or the like and/or a wireless connection such as a wireless 802.11b, g,a, or n connection. According to one embodiment, the computingenvironment 12 may provide a clock to the capture device 20 that may beused to determine when to capture, for example, a scene via thecommunication link 36.

Additionally, the capture device 20 may provide the depth informationand images captured by, for example, the 3-D camera 26 and/or the RGBcamera 28, and a skeletal model that may be generated by the capturedevice 20 to the computing environment 12 via the communication link 36.A variety of known techniques exist for determining whether a target orobject detected by capture device 20 corresponds to a human target.Skeletal mapping techniques may then be used to determine various spotson that user's skeleton, joints of the hands, wrists, elbows, knees,nose, ankles, shoulders, and where the pelvis meets the spine. Othertechniques include transforming the image into a body modelrepresentation of the person and transforming the image into a meshmodel representation of the person.

The skeletal model may then be provided to the computing environment 12such that the computing environment may perform a variety of actions.The computing environment may further determine which controls toperform in an application executing on the computer environment basedon, for example, gestures of the user that have been recognized from theskeletal model. For example, as shown, in FIG. 2, the computingenvironment 12 may include a gesture recognition engine 190 fordetermining when the user has performed a predefined gesture.

FIG. 3A illustrates an example embodiment of a computing environmentthat may be used to interpret one or more positions and motions of auser in a target recognition, analysis, and tracking system. Thecomputing environment such as the computing environment 12 describedabove with respect to FIGS. 1A-2 may be a multimedia console 100, suchas a gaming console. As shown in FIG. 3A, the multimedia console 100 hasa central processing unit (CPU) 101 having a level 1 cache 102, a level2 cache 104, and a flash ROM 106. The level 1 cache 102 and a level 2cache 104 temporarily store data and hence reduce the number of memoryaccess cycles, thereby improving processing speed and throughput. TheCPU 101 may be provided having more than one core, and thus, additionallevel 1 and level 2 caches 102 and 104. The flash ROM 106 may storeexecutable code that is loaded during an initial phase of a boot processwhen the multimedia console 100 is powered ON.

A graphics processing unit (GPU) 108 and a video encoder/video codec(coder/decoder) 114 form a video processing pipeline for high speed andhigh resolution graphics processing. Data is carried from the GPU 108 tothe video encoder/video codec 114 via a bus. The video processingpipeline outputs data to an A/V (audio/video) port 140 for transmissionto a television or other display. A memory controller 110 is connectedto the GPU 108 to facilitate processor access to various types of memory112, such as, but not limited to, a RAM.

The multimedia console 100 includes an I/O controller 120, a systemmanagement controller 122, an audio processing unit 123, a networkinterface controller 124, a first USB host controller 126, a second USBhost controller 128 and a front panel I/O subassembly 130 that arepreferably implemented on a module 118. The USB controllers 126 and 128serve as hosts for peripheral controllers 142(1)-142(2), a wirelessadapter 148, and an external memory device 146 (e.g., flash memory,external CD/DVD ROM drive, removable media, etc.). The network interface124 and/or wireless adapter 148 provide access to a network (e.g., theInternet, home network, etc.) and may be any of a wide variety ofvarious wired or wireless adapter components including an Ethernet card,a modem, a Bluetooth module, a cable modem, and the like.

System memory 143 is provided to store application data that is loadedduring the boot process. A media drive 144 is provided and may comprisea DVD/CD drive, hard drive, or other removable media drive, etc. Themedia drive 144 may be internal or external to the multimedia console100. Application data may be accessed via the media drive 144 forexecution, playback, etc. by the multimedia console 100. The media drive144 is connected to the I/O controller 120 via a bus, such as a SerialATA bus or other high speed connection (e.g., IEEE 1394).

The system management controller 122 provides a variety of servicefunctions related to assuring availability of the multimedia console100. The audio processing unit 123 and an audio codec 132 form acorresponding audio processing pipeline with high fidelity and stereoprocessing. Audio data is carried between the audio processing unit 123and the audio codec 132 via a communication link. The audio processingpipeline outputs data to the A/V port 140 for reproduction by anexternal audio player or device having audio capabilities.

The front panel I/O subassembly 130 supports the functionality of thepower button 150 and the eject button 152, as well as any LEDs (lightemitting diodes) or other indicators exposed on the outer surface of themultimedia console 100. A system power supply module 136 provides powerto the components of the multimedia console 100. A fan 138 cools thecircuitry within the multimedia console 100.

The CPU 101, GPU 108, memory controller 110, and various othercomponents within the multimedia console 100 are interconnected via oneor more buses, including serial and parallel buses, a memory bus, aperipheral bus, and a processor or local bus using any of a variety ofbus architectures. By way of example, such architectures can include aPeripheral Component Interconnects (PCI) bus, PCI-Express bus, etc.

When the multimedia console 100 is powered ON, application data may beloaded from the system memory 143 into memory 112 and/or caches 102, 104and executed on the CPU 101. The application may present a graphicaluser interface that provides a consistent user experience whennavigating to different media types available on the multimedia console100. In operation, applications and/or other media contained within themedia drive 144 may be launched or played from the media drive 144 toprovide additional functionalities to the multimedia console 100.

The multimedia console 100 may be operated as a standalone system bysimply connecting the system to a television or other display. In thisstandalone mode, the multimedia console 100 allows one or more users tointeract with the system, watch movies, or listen to music. However,with the integration of broadband connectivity made available throughthe network interface 124 or the wireless adapter 148, the multimediaconsole 100 may further be operated as a participant in a larger networkcommunity.

When the multimedia console 100 is powered ON, a set amount of hardwareresources are reserved for system use by the multimedia consoleoperating system. These resources may include a reservation of memory(e.g., 16 MB), CPU and GPU cycles (e.g., 5%), networking bandwidth(e.g., 8 kbs), etc. Because these resources are reserved at system boottime, the reserved resources do not exist from the application's view.

In particular, the memory reservation preferably is large enough tocontain the launch kernel, concurrent system applications and drivers.The CPU reservation is preferably constant such that if the reserved CPUusage is not used by the system applications, an idle thread willconsume any unused cycles.

With regard to the GPU reservation, lightweight messages generated bythe system applications (e.g., popups) are displayed by using a GPUinterrupt to schedule code to render popup into an overlay. The amountof memory required for an overlay depends on the overlay area size andthe overlay preferably scales with screen resolution. Where a full userinterface is used by the concurrent system application, it is preferableto use a resolution independent of the application resolution. A scalermay be used to set this resolution such that the need to changefrequency and cause a TV resynch is eliminated.

After the multimedia console 100 boots and system resources arereserved, concurrent system applications execute to provide systemfunctionalities. The system functionalities are encapsulated in a set ofsystem applications that execute within the reserved system resourcesdescribed above. The operating system kernel identifies threads that aresystem application threads versus gaming application threads. The systemapplications are preferably scheduled to run on the CPU 101 atpredetermined times and intervals in order to provide a consistentsystem resource view to the application. The scheduling is to minimizecache disruption for the gaming application running on the console.

When a concurrent system application requires audio, audio processing isscheduled asynchronously to the gaming application due to timesensitivity. A multimedia console application manager (described below)controls the gaming application audio level (e.g., mute, attenuate) whensystem applications are active.

Input devices (e.g., controllers 142(1) and 142(2)) are shared by gamingapplications and system applications. The input devices are not reservedresources, but are to be switched between system applications and thegaming application such that each will have a focus of the device. Theapplication manager preferably controls the switching of input stream,without knowledge of the gaming application's knowledge and a drivermaintains state information regarding focus switches. The cameras 26, 28and capture device 20 may define additional input devices for theconsole 100.

FIG. 3B illustrates another example embodiment of a computingenvironment 220 that may be the computing environment 12 shown in FIGS.1A-2 used to interpret one or more positions and motions in a targetrecognition, analysis, and tracking system. The computing systemenvironment 220 is only one example of a suitable computing environmentand is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use orfunctionality of the presently disclosed subject matter. Neither shouldthe computing environment 220 be interpreted as having any dependency orrequirement relating to any one or combination of components illustratedin the exemplary operating environment 220. In some embodiments, thevarious depicted computing elements may include circuitry configured toinstantiate specific aspects of the present disclosure. For example, theterm circuitry used in the disclosure can include specialized hardwarecomponents configured to perform function(s) by firmware or switches. Inother example embodiments, the term circuitry can include a generalpurpose processing unit, memory, etc., configured by softwareinstructions that embody logic operable to perform function(s). Inexample embodiments where circuitry includes a combination of hardwareand software, an implementer may write source code embodying logic andthe source code can be compiled into machine readable code that can beprocessed by the general purpose processing unit. Since one skilled inthe art can appreciate that the state of the art has evolved to a pointwhere there is little difference between hardware, software, or acombination of hardware/software, the selection of hardware versussoftware to effectuate specific functions is a design choice left to animplementer. More specifically, one of skill in the art can appreciatethat a software process can be transformed into an equivalent hardwarestructure, and a hardware structure can itself be transformed into anequivalent software process. Thus, the selection of a hardwareimplementation versus a software implementation is one of design choiceand left to the implementer.

In FIG. 3B, the computing environment 220 comprises a computer 241,which typically includes a variety of computer readable media. Computerreadable media can be any available media that can be accessed bycomputer 241 and includes both volatile and nonvolatile media, removableand non-removable media. The system memory 222 includes computer storagemedia in the form of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory such as ROM 223and RAM 260. A basic input/output system 224 (BIOS), containing thebasic routines that help to transfer information between elements withincomputer 241, such as during start-up, is typically stored in ROM 223.RAM 260 typically contains data and/or program modules that areimmediately accessible to and/or presently being operated on byprocessing unit 259. By way of example, and not limitation, FIG. 3Billustrates operating system 225, application programs 226, otherprogram modules 227, and program data 228. One example of applicationprogram 226 is a story application 226 used for presenting aninteractive story experience to a user as explained herein. FIG. 3Bfurther includes a graphics processor unit (GPU) 229 having anassociated video memory 230 for high speed and high resolution graphicsprocessing and storage. The GPU 229 may be connected to the system bus221 through a graphics interface 231.

The computer 241 may also include other removable/non-removable,volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media. By way of example only,FIG. 3B illustrates a hard disk drive 238 that reads from or writes tonon-removable, nonvolatile magnetic media, a magnetic disk drive 239that reads from or writes to a removable, nonvolatile magnetic disk 254,and an optical disk drive 240 that reads from or writes to a removable,nonvolatile optical disk 253 such as a CD ROM or other optical media.Other removable/non-removable, volatile/nonvolatile computer storagemedia that can be used in the exemplary operating environment include,but are not limited to, magnetic tape cassettes, flash memory cards,digital versatile disks, digital video tape, solid state RAM, solidstate ROM, and the like. The hard disk drive 238 is typically connectedto the system bus 221 through a non-removable memory interface such asinterface 234, and magnetic disk drive 239 and optical disk drive 240are typically connected to the system bus 221 by a removable memoryinterface, such as interface 235.

The drives and their associated computer storage media discussed aboveand illustrated in FIG. 3B, provide storage of computer readableinstructions, data structures, program modules and other data for thecomputer 241. In FIG. 3B, for example, hard disk drive 238 isillustrated as storing operating system 258, application programs 257,other program modules 256, and program data 255. Note that thesecomponents can either be the same as or different from operating system225, application programs 226, other program modules 227, and programdata 228. Operating system 258, application programs 257, other programmodules 256, and program data 255 are given different numbers here toillustrate that, at a minimum, they are different copies. A user mayenter commands and information into the computer 241 through inputdevices such as a keyboard 251 and a pointing device 252, commonlyreferred to as a mouse, trackball or touch pad. Other input devices (notshown) may include a microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish,scanner, or the like. These and other input devices are often connectedto the processing unit 259 through a user input interface 236 that iscoupled to the system bus, but may be connected by other interface andbus structures, such as a parallel port, game port or a universal serialbus (USB). The cameras 26, 28 and capture device 20 may defineadditional input devices for the console 100. A monitor 242 or othertype of display device is also connected to the system bus 221 via aninterface, such as a video interface 232. In addition to the monitor,computers may also include other peripheral output devices such asspeakers 244 and printer 243, which may be connected through an outputperipheral interface 233.

The computer 241 may operate in a networked environment using logicalconnections to one or more remote computers, such as a remote computer246. The remote computer 246 may be a personal computer, a server, arouter, a network PC, a peer device or other common network node, andtypically includes many or all of the elements described above relativeto the computer 241, although only a memory storage device 247 has beenillustrated in FIG. 3B. The logical connections depicted in FIG. 3Binclude a local area network (LAN) 245 and a wide area network (WAN)249, but may also include other networks. Such networking environmentsare commonplace in offices, enterprise-wide computer networks, intranetsand the Internet.

When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer 241 is connectedto the LAN 245 through a network interface or adapter 237. When used ina WAN networking environment, the computer 241 typically includes amodem 250 or other means for establishing communications over the WAN249, such as the Internet. The modem 250, which may be internal orexternal, may be connected to the system bus 221 via the user inputinterface 236, or other appropriate mechanism. In a networkedenvironment, program modules depicted relative to the computer 241, orportions thereof, may be stored in the remote memory storage device. Byway of example, and not limitation, FIG. 3B illustrates remoteapplication programs 248 as residing on memory device 247. It will beappreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary and othermeans of establishing a communications link between the computers may beused.

FIG. 4 depicts an example skeletal mapping of a user that may begenerated from the capture device 20. In this embodiment, a variety ofjoints and bones are identified: each hand 302, each forearm 304, eachelbow 306, each bicep 308, each shoulder 310, each hip 312, each thigh314, each knee 316, each foreleg 318, each foot 320, the head 322, thetorso 324, the top 326 and the bottom 328 of the spine, and the waist330. Where more points are tracked, additional features may beidentified, such as the bones and joints of the fingers or toes, orindividual features of the face, such as the nose and eyes.

FIG. 5 is a high level flowchart of the operation of an embodiment ofthe present technology for presenting an interactive story experiencevia a natural user interface. At step 400, a user may launch the system10 and activate computing environment 12 and capture device 20. In step404, the system 10 runs a story application 226. In step 406, the storyapplication presents the next frame of a story to the user over display14.

The story may be presented graphically over display 14 and may have anassociated audio narrative. The story may be displayed in discrete,still-image panels, i.e., a series of static images presented insuccession as still frames on display 14. The story may alternatively bepresented in dynamic computer-graphics (CG) animation, or as scenes shotwith a video camera with live actors. The audio narrative may be audiopresented by the story application, by a user and/or by a third partynot present while the story is presented, as explained below. The audionarrative may also include dialog between characters of a presentedstory. Again, this dialog between characters may be presented by storyapplication, by one or more users and/or by one or more third partiesnot present while the story is presented.

In embodiments using CG animation, the story application 226 may presenta first frame of animation generated by the GPU of the computingenvironment 12, which frame may be refreshed at the refresh rate of thecapture device (for example at30 Hz). The frame rate may be quicker orslower than that in further embodiments. In embodiments usingstatic-image panels, a static image is akin to a page of a book orcomic. The static image may be presented on the display for example forseveral seconds. In embodiments using video, the frame may be refreshedat the frame rate of the video, which may again be for example at 30Hz.

In embodiments, upon running the story application, a user 18 need notinteract with the presented story. That is, the user may simply viewand/or listen to the story as it plays from start to end. In furtherembodiments described below, a user may alternatively interact with thestory presented by the story application 226.

The capture device 20 is monitoring the user as a user watches and/orinteracts with the story application. In step 408, if the capture device20 senses the user leaving the field of view, the story application maypause at step 412 until the user reenters the field of view. Steps 408and 412 may be omitted in further embodiments. As indicated above, auser may simply sit and view and/or listen to the story presented by thestory application. In step 416, if no user interaction is sensed, thestory will simply continue until its completion. However, if userinteraction is sensed in step 416 the system in general determines theinteraction and performs different operations depending on theinteraction as explained below.

In step 418, the story application may check whether the microphonearray 30 of capture device 20 detected a voice. Techniques are known fordifferentiating sounds picked up by the microphone array 30 to determinewhether one or more of the sounds is a human voice. Microphone array 30may include various known filters, such as for example a high passfilter, to attenuate low frequency noise which may detected by themicrophone array 30.

If a voice is detected in step 418, the system performs the steps setforth in FIG. 6 as will now be described. In embodiments, it may bedesirable to identify whether a particular user is the speaker orwhether the voice is coming from some other source. Various techniquesexist for associating a voice with a user within the field of view, suchas for example prior correlation of voice characteristics to aparticular user, and acoustic source localization techniques. These andother techniques may be used to identify a speaker in step 450. Step 450may be omitted in further embodiments.

The story application may have associated narrative for narrating thestory which may be broadcast over speakers associated with theaudio/visual device 16. However, a narrative may alternatively bedisplayed in words on the screen so that they can be read by a userlistening to the story. In one example, a child may be learning to read,or a parent may be reading the story to the child as the child watchesthe story unfold on display 14. As an alternative to the words appearingon the screen, a user may have a computing device that is paired to thecomputing environment 12 and participating in the same instance of thestory application 226. In such embodiments, the words for the narrativemay be displayed on the user's paired computing device instead of ondisplay 14.

In further embodiments, it is envisioned that the narrative be read by athird party who is not then present when the story application 226 isshowing the story on system 10. While the third party could be anyone,in embodiments, the third party may for example be a parent orgrandparent who is not then present when the story application isrunning, but is desirous of being the voice of the narrative presentedto a child listening to and watching the story on system 10.

In such embodiments, a third party may have pre-recorded the narrativefor the story application and that recording may be played back as thestory application is running to provide the narrative for the story. Inthis embodiment, the recording may be played back on an audio playbackdevice either associated with or not associated with the system 10. In afurther embodiment, a third party may be reading the narrative for thestory application 226 in real time as the story application runs on thesystem 10, but the third party is connected via a telephone or VOIPconnection to the computing environment 12.

In step 454, the story application determines whether the voiceperceived in step 418 correlates to a narrative for the story. Knownvoice analysis techniques may be used for this purpose, includingparsing the known words of the narrative into phonemes, doing the samefor the voice perceived by the microphone array 30, and comparing thetwo phoneme streams to find a match.

If, in step 454, the spoken voice is correlated to the narrative of thestory application, the spoken voice may set the pace with which thestory application advances the story. For example, where the story ispresented in still image panels, the story application may determine instep 464 whether the last words of the narrative associated with aparticular panel have been spoken. If not, it is not yet time to advanceto the next panel and the flow may return to look for the nextinteraction as explained below with respect to FIG. 5. On the otherhand, if the story application determines that the last words of thenarrative associated with a particular panel have been spoken, the storyapplication may advance to the next panel in step 466. The flow mayreturn to look for the next interaction as explained below with respectto FIG. 5.

Where the image is video or dynamic animation, the story application maycorrelate the narrative to the spoken voice and speed up or slow downthe displayed images to synchronize with the pace of the narrativespoken by the user or third party. The story application may cyclethrough the flowchart of FIG. 5 and may periodically check for a voice,check whether the voice correlates to a narrative of the presentedstory, and synchronize the presented images with the pace of the spokennarrative.

If the story application is unable to correlate a voice with a narrativein step 454, the application may next check in step 456 if the sound isrecognized as an audible instruction to the story application or to theoperation of system 10. If not, the computing environment 12 may returnto FIG. 5 to look for another possible interaction of a user with thestory application in step 422 as explained below. On the other hand, ifthe voice is recognized as instruction in step 456, the act associatedwith that instruction may be performed in step 460, and the system maythen return to the flowchart of FIG. 5 to check for the nextinteraction.

Returning now to FIG. 5, in step 422 the present system may look for aspecific type of gesture, referred to herein as an “explorationgesture.” In particular, it is a feature of the present technology toallow one type of interaction where a user, in effect, steps into thevirtual world presented on the display 14, and explores and/orinvestigates virtual objects on the display. As one of a wide variety ofexamples, the story may display a room to a user. With no interaction bythe user, the user may be shown the room for a period of time and thenthe story may move on to show other locations. However, instead ofsimply moving on, the user may perform an exploration gesture,indicating their desire to explore and investigate virtual objectswithin the room to get a closer view and/or to see the objects fromdifferent perspectives. In embodiments, it is also contemplated that auser may perform gestures and motions interpreted by the computingenvironment 12 which enable a user to pick up and manipulate virtualobjects within a scene.

In step 422 of FIG. 5, the computing environment 12 looks for apredefined exploration gesture. A wide variety of movements and gesturesby the user may be set as predefined exploration gestures in embodimentsof the present technology. In one such embodiment described now withrespect to FIG. 10, the capture device 20 captures head and/or bodymovements of a user. For example, in FIG. 10, the user has bent to theside and craned their neck, as the user might when trying to peer aroundor behind an object in the real world. The operation of the gesturerecognition engine 190 is explained below, but the recognition engine190 may have a predefined rule to look for such body movements and, whenfound, interprets them as an exploration gesture. In addition to craningthe neck and/or bending at the waist, the exploration gesture mayadditionally or alternatively include another gesture, such as forexample a pointing gesture as shown in FIG. 10.

It is appreciated that a wide variety of other body movements may bedefined as exploration gestures in further embodiments. In some suchembodiments, the user movements may have a correlation in the real worldto the action the user wishes to accomplish in the virtual world. Oneexample is set forth above, where the user is bent to the side andcraning their neck to signify their desire to look around or behind anobject. In further embodiments, a user may also or alternatively walk inthe direction of the display, indicating their desire to step into thevirtual scene. In further embodiments, an arbitrary set of gestures maybe defined which have no real world significance. However, the arbitrarybody and/or voice gestures may be developed and recorded by the gesturerecognition engine 190 so that, when performed, the gesture recognitionengine recognizes them, and performs the associated action, such asstepping into a virtual scene to look behind an object.

Once an exploration gesture is recognized in step 422, the computingenvironment 12 performs steps 490 through 538 as will now be describedwith respect to the flowchart of FIG. 7. In step 490, the computingenvironment 12 determines whether the user wishes to step into thethree-dimensional virtual world showing the display to view a displayedscene from another position. Again, this desire, as well as thedirection the user would like to take into the virtual scene arecontrolled by the user through predefined head, hand or other gestures.This embodiment may operate where the scene is presented in CGanimation. Where the scene is presented in either static panels orrecorded video, it is contemplated that CG animation may be cut intothose display models to provide exploration of the virtual scene asexplained below. In a further embodiment, the video may be shot in 360°,which allows some level of entry and exploration of the user into thevideo scene.

As one example, once the exploration gesture is performed, the capturedevice 20 and computing device 12 may determine a point on the displayon which the user is focused, such as for example a point 610 in FIG.10. This point may be determined by capturing where the user's eyes arepointed and/or this point may be determined by capturing where a user'shand is pointed. In further embodiments, a user may also oralternatively walk in that direction. If it is determined in step 490that the user wishes to view the scene from a different position, thecomputer environment may define a vector in step 494 along which theuser desires to move in the virtual world.

The vector in step 494 may be determined based on one or more real worldthree-dimensional vectors 612 from a point of reference on the user tothe point of interest 610 on the display. In FIG. 10, the vectors 612are from the user's eyes to the point of interest 610 and from theuser's pointed hand to the point of interest 610. The point of reference(eyes, hand, etc.) has a known x, y and z coordinate position.

The virtual scene shown on display 14 is represented in 3-D data. Thatis, the points in a virtual scene and on virtual objects within thescene are assigned x, y and z values to create a 3-D virtual spacereferred to herein as 3-D machine space. Given a known position ofcapture device 20 to the real world in which the user is moving, thereis a known relation between the 3-D real world space and the 3-D machinespace. As such, the vectors 612 may be translated from 3-D real worldspace to 3-D machine space using known transformation matrices. Thetranslation of real world vectors 612 to 3-D machine space provide thevector in step 494 along which the user is to move into the 3-D virtualscene. As explained below, in order to create the effect of the usermoving into the virtual scene and examining virtual objects, theperspective of the display changes to provide a view of different areasand objects of a scene, and from different zoomed in or zoomed outpositions. Again, this is possible because virtual objects are notmerely defined as two-dimensional points on the display, but rather have3-D definitions in machine space.

In step 498, instead of immediately repositioning the user at a desiredlocation, the user's view into the virtual machine world may be changedincrementally. The increments at which the user's view changes may bearbitrarily set, but in embodiments, the view changes so as to createthe impression that the user is walking into the scene at a normalwalking pace. In step 502, the view of the scene displayed on display 14may be updated to the incrementally changing view of step 498. Again,transformation matrices are known for translating the view of thedisplayed scene to any perspective of the 3-D machine space. In step506, the scene may be rendered from the view of the new positiondetermined in step 502.

The routine may then return to step 490 to determine if the user hasarrived at the position within the virtual scene at which they wouldlike to investigate an object or whether they would like to continue tomove within the virtual scene. This may be indicated by the user's bodyposition and where the user is focused on the display, or by some otherarbitrary body movement or voice gesture. If the user would like tocontinue to move within the virtual scene, steps 490 through 506 arerepeated until the user has arrived at their desired position within thevirtual scene.

If step 490 determines the user is at the desired position in thevirtual scene (i.e., the scene is presented on the display from thedesired perspective), the flow may branch to step 510 to determine if auser wishes to focus more closely on an object within the scene at thatposition. Again, this desire may be indicated by one or more predefinedgestures, either mimicking real world movements that a user would maketo move to and/or focus on objects in the real world, or arbitrarygestures which are defined for the purpose of navigating and focusing onobjects within the virtual world.

If it is determined in step 510 that the user wishes to focus moreclosely on an object in the scene, the computing environment 12 storesthe current position (i.e., the current view of the scene) as areference position in step 514. As explained below, this referenceposition will be used as the view to which the system returns when theuser is done focusing in on a particular virtual object. In step 518,the computing environment 12 determines a vector direction from thereference position to the virtual object. This may be accomplished asdescribed above by detecting in the real world the user's head positionin x, y, z space and where the user is looking on the display, andthereafter translating that vector into a vector in virtual machinespace.

In step 522, an intermediate incremental position along this vector maybe determined as described above. In step 524, the perspective of thescene may be translated to the position determined in step 522, and instep 528, the scene may be rendered from the view determined in step524. In step 532, the system may determine if a user is finishedfocusing on a particular object within the virtual scene. This may beindicated by any of a variety of predefined gestures. If the system doesnot determine that a user is finished with the focus view, the flowreturns at step 510, and steps 510 through 528 may be repeated toprovide further and additional focus on virtual objects within thescene. On the other hand, if a user performs a predefined gesture instep 532 indicating that the user has completed their focused view, theview may be translated back in step 536 to the view from the referenceposition (stored in step 514).

If the computing environment 12 is unable to discern additionalexploration gestures in steps 490 and 510, the flow may branch to a step538 to see if a user performs a predefined gesture indicating that theyare done exploring the scene. If not, the flow may loop back to step 490to see if a user wishes to view the scene from a different position, andif not, the flow moves to step 510 to determine if the user wishes tofocus on an object within the scene at that current position. On theother hand, if some predefined gesture is performed indicating the useris finished with exploring within the 3-D scene in step 538, the flowmay return to FIG. 5 to check for the next type of user interaction.

It is appreciated that steps 490 through 538 are merely one example ofhow a user may move into and around the three-dimensional virtual worldprovided on a display 14 by the story application.

In embodiments of the present system, in addition to watching a storyand exploring within a 3-D virtual world, a user may also have theoption of controlling one or more characters within the story. Thisembodiment may operate where the scene is presented in CG animation.Where the scene is presented in either static panels or recorded video,it is contemplated that CG animation may be cut into those displaymodels to provide character control as explained below.

In embodiments, a user 18 may perform some predefined gesture indicatingthe user's desire to control the movements and/or actions of an onscreencharacter 23. The predefined gestures may for example be arbitrarygestures coupled with a user motion for example pointing at a givencharacter onscreen. When such character control is permitted by thestory application 226, the user may be registered as that character instep 426 and the user may thereafter control that character as describedbelow with respect to steps 540 through 558 of FIG. 8.

After a user is registered as controlling a character, the user mayperform certain motions and gestures which are used to animate andaffect the behavior of the controlled onscreen character. In step 540,the computing environment determines whether a user has performed apredefined, recognized gesture. If so, the computing environment checksat step 544 whether the onscreen character is permitted to perform theaction corresponding to the recognized gesture. In particular, inembodiments, the user does not have complete control over the onscreencharacter's action or behavior, but rather shares control of theonscreen character with the story application 226. In embodiments, theuser may control a character's movement to an extent, but theapplication may define boundaries to such movements, and may limitcontrol of other aspects of the onscreen character, such as for exampleas relating to the character's behavior and personality. Unfetteredcontrol of the onscreen character by a user may prevent the storyapplication from moving forward, if for example the user causes theonscreen character to perform certain actions that were not anticipatedas possible story branches (explained below). However, it is understoodthat in further embodiments, a user may be given unfettered control ofan onscreen character.

If a character 23 is permitted to perform the gesture action in step 542by the story application, the character performs that action associatedwith the gesture in step 544. FIG. 1B shows an example where a user isgiven the ability to control the upper body of an onscreen character 23.This particular story application may recognize a gesture of a userraising their arms, and having that correspond to an onscreen character,such as for example a monster, raising their arms in a menacing manner.Upon recognition of such a user gesture in step 540 of FIG. 8, thecharacter performs the corresponding action in step 544.

If no recognized gesture was performed in step 540, the computingenvironment next checks in step 546 whether user movement is detected bythe capture device 20. If so, the system checks at 550 whether theonscreen characters are permitted to move as did the user, as set forthabove. If so, the onscreen character is animated with the user'smovement in a monkey-see-monkey-do fashion in step 552. If the computingenvironment does not detect a predefined gesture in step 540 or usermovement in step 546, the computing environment may return to step 428of FIG. 5 to detect other user interaction with the scene as explainedbelow.

In step 554 the system next checks whether the user has given some sortof predefined gesture indicating their desire to end control of thecharacter. If such gesture is detected in step 554, the user's controlof the character ends and the character is completely controlled by thestory application 226 in step 556. If the system detects user movementat step 546 but the character is not permitted to move in that manner instep 550, or if the user ends control of the character at step 554, thesystem may return to step 428 in FIG. 5 to look for other interaction ofa user with a displayed scene.

Returning now to FIG. 5, at step 428 the computing environment 12 looksfor some interaction of the user with the displayed scene, and inparticular a user interaction which may affect an outcome of a sub-plotof the story, or affect the overall outcome of the story. If suchinteraction is detected, the system performs steps 560 through 588 ofFIG. 9. This may occur as a result of a voice command described abovewith respect to 418, an exploration gesture described above with respectto step 422, the user controlling an onscreen character as describedabove with respect to step 426, or some other interaction with thestory.

The degree of interactivity may in part be determined by the type ofimages displayed in the story. CG animations may offer a high degree ofinteractivity, while still panels and recorded video may offer less. Itis understood that CG animations may be cut into still panels and/orrecorded video to provide greater interactivity. In embodiments, a usermay be given the opportunity to interact with the onscreen story atdiscrete points in the story. These points may be indicated to the userby a pause in the story or some prompt. In further embodiments, a usermay have the option to interact with the story at any point during thepresentation of the story by application 226.

Upon interaction with a displayed scene at step 428, the systeminitially performs a step 560 of determining whether the user hasperformed a motion or a recognized gesture. If so, computing environment12 next checks in step 564 whether the action associated with thatmotion or gesture requires a branch to a different story line. There area variety of known methods for determining whether a user actionrequires a branch to a different story branch, and then determining howto proceed from that story branch. In one example, the story applicationmay maintain state data values for all objects and characters within astory. When something with respect to a scene or character changes, thestate data for the scene or character may change accordingly. Thesestate data values may be used in rendering story objects or characters,and in controlling what happens with those objects or characters.

In embodiments, the story application may be able to branch to a varietyof different story lines depending on the state data values for objectsand characters, which state data may be altered as a result of userinteraction with those objects and/or characters. In furtherembodiments, a user may perform certain gestures which do not interactwith or affect onscreen objects or characters, but nonetheless mayresult in a change in the story line. As one example, a user may chooseto leave a room displayed on the screen before vital aspects of thestory to be shown and explained with respect to that room have beenrevealed.

In step 564, the computing environment 12 determines whether the actionassociated with a user-performed gesture requires a branch to adifferent story line. As noted, this may occur with state data valuesfor objects and characters of a story that have been altered by a user.In particular, the state data values have changed so that continuingwith the story as it existed prior to the user's gesture in step 560would be inconsistent with the current state data values associated withobjects, characters or the story as a whole. If the user's gesturerequires a branch to a different story line, the computing environment12 may check in step 568 whether there is a known branch of the storyconsistent with the user's interaction.

If the user does not perform a motion or recognized gesture in step 560,or the user's motion / recognized gesture does not require a branch to adifferent story line in step 564, the system may return to FIG. 5 tolook for any other type of movement or gesture in step 432 as explainedbelow. Moreover, if the user has performed an action requiring a branchto a different story line, but there is no branch consistent with theuser's interaction known or identifiable by the story application 226,the effect of the user's gesture on the story line may be ignored instep 568 and the flow may return to step 432 in FIG. 5 as explainedbelow.

Assuming a user's gesture requires a branch to a new branch story line,and that story line is capable of being performed by the storyapplication, the story application may modify the state data associatedwith objects, characters and the application as a whole, depending onwhat motion or gesture the user performed. Referring to FIGS. 11 and 12,some user interactions affect a story branch varying only a sub-plot ofthe story, without effecting the overall outcome. As seen in FIG. 11, auser may perform some interaction 620 causing the story application tobranch to branch 1, branch 2, . . . , branch N, and thereafter all thebranches re-converge to continue with the original story line. A widevariety of such sub-plot story branches are envisioned. For example, inFIG. 1A, a user may perform gestures moving the clouds 25 together tothe point where it rains over the house 21. The rain may have no effecton the overall plot. It may rain for a while, the rain may stop and thestory line may continue as it would have had it not rained. In furtherembodiments, the application story may prompt a user to answer questionsor solve puzzles, and the story line may branch to different sub-plotsdepending on the user's answers to the prompts. The story mayre-converge and continue with the original story line once a user hassuccessfully answered the questions or solved the puzzles.

On the other hand, other types of user interactions may affect a storybranch varying the overall outcome of the story. In other words, thestory will end differently depending on the user's interactions with thestory. For example, in FIG. 11, a user performs an interaction 624 whichcauses a story branch to one of N branches which do not re-converge.Moreover, any one of those branches may then itself branch on furtheruser interaction. For example, if user interaction 624 causes a story tobranch to branch number 1, the user may perform another interaction 628causing the story to branch to further possible outcomes. A story mayhave any number of sub-plot branches, or overall plot branches,depending on whether a story application is written to handle manysub-plot and overall plot branches.

In embodiments, a single user may perform interactions which cause astory application to perform sub-plot branches or overall plot branches.In further embodiments, multiple users may be viewing a story. Thesemultiple users may be co-located or located at different locations,using different systems 10, which are networked together so the varioususers may share the same instance of application 226 and the same storyexperience. In such embodiments, the story application 226 may requirethe actions of several users acting in concert before the story linewill branch to a new sub-plot or a new overall plot.

Returning now to FIG. 9, if the computing environment 12 has identifieda user movement or gesture requiring a story line branch in step 564,and the story application is equipped to handle that new story line, thestory application 226 branches to that new story line in step 570. Thestory application modifies the state data for any objects, characters orthe application as a whole in step 572. In step 574, the storyapplication 226 may render graphics for a scene in accordance with thenew story line and state data, and the story application may continuewith the identified branch in step 578.

One aspect of the present system is to add game mechanics to a storybeing shown to a user. Accordingly, in addition to showing a story,story application 226 may further keep a user's score which may beincremented or decremented depending on how the user interacts with thestory. In particular, certain gestures or actions by a user may have apredetermined story value and an associated number of points which areto be added to, or subtracted from, the user's overall score uponperformance of the associated gesture. Accordingly, in step 582, thestory application checks whether there was a score associated with theuser interaction performed in step 560. If not, the flow returns to step432 in FIG. 5. If there is a score associated with the user'sinteraction, the user's score is adjusted accordingly in step 588, andthen the flow may return to step 432 in FIG. 5 as described below.

The embodiment of FIG. 9 may be used in stories using static imagepanels or dynamic CG image animation. FIG. 9A shows a further embodimentfor use with recorded video. Steps 560 through 572 may be as describedabove for FIG. 9. In embodiments, interaction with recorded video wouldoccur at predefined points of interaction with the video. For recordedvideo stories, the story application may have a different video clip foreach possible branch of the story. In step 590, the story applicationmay retrieve the media clip appropriate to the determined branch of thestory. In step 594, the computing environment 12 may render that clip.As an alternative or addition to pre-recorded video clips for differentbranches, CG animations may be constructed by the computing environmentand inserted.

After a user has been shown the images from the story branch, the storyapplication 226 may then go back and show the media clip for the story,had the story not branched to a new line in a step 596. For example, thestory may relate to a crime drama where detectives are about tointerrogate a suspect. A user may perform a predefined gestureindicating that they wish to interact with the story application tointerrogate the suspect. The user may ask questions, and may perform theinterrogation in different ways and with different attitudes. Theseactions may be limited in scope, for example by a script from which theuser can select questions. Alternatively, it may be any questions theuser wishes to ask.

The user may also ask the questions with different attitudes, some moreor less likely to work with the suspect character being interrogated.The user may attempt to bully the suspect, or the user may attempt toelicit information by proceeding with a pleasant demeanor. The capturedevice 20 is capable of detecting these different mannerisms, and thesedifferent mannerisms may be identified by the computing environment 12if certain acts match defined and stored mannerism data. Once the userhas completed the interrogation, a video clip of the detectivesconducting the interrogation may be played. The user can see what theydid better or worse than the detectives, as far as the amount ofinformation he or she was able to get from the suspect in comparison towhat the detective characters obtained in the replayed scene.

In step 600, the story line continues with the identified branch. It mayreconvene with the original story line or it may result in a new outcomefor the overall plot. In step 604, a user's interaction may be scored.For example, if a user was able to elicit more information than thedetective characters did in the above example, the user may be awardedsome predefined number of points. Alternatively, if the user elicitedless information, they may lose a predetermined number of points. Theuser's score may be adjusted accordingly and the flow may return to step432 of FIG. 5 as described below.

Returning to FIG. 5, it may happen that a user's gesture is not anexploration gesture in step 422, is not for the purpose of controlling acharacter in step 426, and does not interact with a displayed scene soas to change the story line in step 428. Accordingly, computingenvironment 12 checks for other such gestures in step 432. If no othersuch gesture is recognized in step 432, the story application loops backto step 406 to present the next frame of the story and theabove-described steps repeat. On the other hand, if some other gestureis recognized in step 432, the system checks in step 434 whether thatgesture is to end the story. If so, the story ends at step 436.Otherwise, in step 438, the system performs any action associated with agesture recognized in step 432, and then the flow returns to step 406 topresent the next frame of the story.

As noted above, if a user takes no action when receiving a story, thestory may proceed linearly per a default set of images and/or narrativeor dialog. In a further embodiment, even where a user takes no action,elements in the linear story may dynamically change relative toinstances of the story based on various preset factors. These factorsmay include the number of times the story has been viewed (for example,something new happens the 4th time through); the number of people in theaudience; and the weather or time of day (for example, the weather inthe story changes with the seasons, or is tied to the real worldweather). The weather or time of day may be known to the system 10 orstored within a service to which the system 10 is networked. Also,events in other stories could have an impact—being introduced to acharacter in story B makes them appear in story A. These features, alongwith the other features of the present system described above, make thestories more dynamic and encourage repeat viewing and experimentation.

Many of the interactions described above are triggered by predefinedgestures. FIG. 13 shows a block diagram of a gesture recognition engine190, and FIG. 14 shows a block diagram of the operation of the gesturerecognition engine 190 of FIG. 13. The gesture recognition engine 190receives pose information 650 in step 660. The pose information mayinclude a variety of parameters relating to position and/or motion ofthe user's body parts and joints as detected in the image data.

The gesture recognition engine 190 analyzes the received poseinformation 650 in step 664 to see if the pose information matches anypredefined rule 658 stored within a gestures library 654. A stored rule658 describes when particular positions and/or kinetic motions indicatedby the pose information 650 are to be interpreted as a predefinedgesture. In embodiments, each gesture may have a different, unique ruleor set of rules 658. Each rule may have a number of parameters (jointposition vectors, maximum/minimum position, change in position, etc.)for one or more of the body parts shown in FIG. 4. A stored rule maydefine, for each parameter and for each body part 302 through 330 shownin FIG. 4, a single value, a range of values, a maximum value, a minimumvalue or an indication that a parameter for that body part is notrelevant to the determination of the gesture covered by the rule. Rulesmay be created by a game author, by a host of the gaming platform or byusers themselves.

The gesture recognition engine 190 may output both an identified gestureand a confidence level which corresponds to the likelihood that theuser's position/movement corresponds to that gesture. In particular, inaddition to defining the parameters required for a gesture, a rule mayfurther include a threshold confidence level required before poseinformation 650 is to be interpreted as a gesture. Some gestures mayhave more impact as system commands or gaming instructions, and as such,require a higher confidence level before a pose is interpreted as thatgesture. The comparison of the pose information against the storedparameters for a rule results in a cumulative confidence level as towhether the pose information indicates a gesture.

Once a confidence level has been determined as to whether a given poseor motion satisfies a given gesture rule, the gesture recognition engine190 then determines in step 668 whether the confidence level is above apredetermined threshold for the rule under consideration. The thresholdconfidence level may be stored in association with the rule underconsideration. If the confidence level is below the threshold, nogesture is detected (step 670) and no action is taken. On the otherhand, if the confidence level is above the threshold, the user's motionis determined to satisfy the gesture rule under consideration, and thegesture recognition engine 190 returns the identified gesture in step674. The gesture recognition engine 190 may operate by other methods infurther embodiments.

The foregoing detailed description of the inventive system has beenpresented for purposes of illustration and description. It is notintended to be exhaustive or to limit the inventive system to theprecise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possiblein light of the above teaching. The described embodiments were chosen inorder to best explain the principles of the inventive system and itspractical application to thereby enable others skilled in the art tobest utilize the inventive system in various embodiments and withvarious modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.It is intended that the scope of the inventive system be defined by theclaims appended hereto.

What is claimed:
 1. In a system comprising a computing environmentcoupled to a capture device for capturing user motion and an audiovisualdevice for displaying images and/or providing audio, a method ofcombining interactive gaming aspects into a linear story, comprising: a)presenting the linear story via the audiovisual device using at leastone of images and an audio narrative, the linear story having a defaultstory and an altered story, the default story including a default set ofimages and/or narrative that is presented to a user if a user does notinteract with the story; b) detecting at least one of a movement or avoice command by a user via the capture device; and c) altering thelinear story to the altered story where at least one of movement orvoice command are detected in said step b), the linear story beingaltered in said step c) by presenting at least one of the additionalimages and additional narrative to a user via the audiovisual device. 2.The method of claim 1, wherein the linear story includes images havingstory scenes defined by three-dimensional descriptions of the scene invirtual machine space, said step c) of altering the linear storycomprising the step d) of presenting additional images showing a scenefrom the default set of images from a different three dimensionalviewing perspective within the virtual machine space.
 3. The method ofclaim 2, the additional images presented in said step d) creating theimpression of a user moving into the scene.
 4. The method of claim 2,the additional images presented in said step d) creating the impressionof a user examining an object from the scene more closely.
 5. The methodof claim 2, the additional images presented in said step d) creating theimpression of a user examining an object from the scene from a differentperspective.
 6. The method of claim 2, the additional images presentedin said step d) creating the impression of a user looking behind anobject within the scene.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein said step c)of altering the linear story comprises the step e) of a user interactingwith a character displayed within a scene.
 8. The method of claim 1,wherein said step c) of altering the linear story occurs where it isdetermined that a movement and/or voice command is not an interactionthat alters the linear story, but a predefined event occurs which altersthe linear story, the predefined event relating to receiving the linearstory a predetermined number of times without altering the story.
 9. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the linear story includes an audio narrativeand images, said step a) of presenting the linear story comprising thesteps of: a1) a user voicing the narrative, a2) matching the user-voicednarrative to corresponding images of the linear story, and a3)presenting the images at a pace determined by a pace of the user-voicednarrative.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the linear story includesan audio narrative and images presented to a user, said step a) ofpresenting the linear story comprising the steps of: a1) a third partyvoicing the narrative, the third party not present with the user and thethird party's voice provided as the narrative via a speaker in avicinity of the user, a2) matching the third party-voiced narrative tocorresponding images of the linear story, and a3) presenting the imagesat a pace determined by a pace of the third party-voiced narrative. 11.A processor-readable storage medium for programming a processor toperform a method of combining interactive gaming aspects into a linearstory, comprising: a) presenting the linear story via an audiovisualdevice using at least one of images and an audio narrative, the linearstory presented as a complete story, beginning to end and including adefault set of images, in the event no interaction by a user isperceived by a capture device monitoring user movements; b) detectinguser interaction with the story by a user via a capture device to alterthe linear story of the default set of images; c) altering the linearstory to a story branch by presenting images in addition to or insteadof the default set of images to a user via the audiovisual device ifuser interaction is received in said step (b) to alter the linear storyof the default set of images; and d) scoring a user's interaction wherethe interaction corresponds to awarding or taking away a predeterminednumber of points based on how the user interacts with the story.
 12. Theprocessor-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the linear storyincludes images having story scenes defined by three-dimensionaldescriptions of the scene in virtual machine space, said step c) ofaltering the linear story comprising the step e) of presentingadditional images showing a scene from the default set of images from adifferent three dimensional viewing perspective within the virtualmachine space.
 13. The processor-readable storage medium of claim 11,wherein said step b) comprises the step f) of a user taking over atleast partial control of a character displayed as part of the linearstory.
 14. The processor-readable storage medium of claim 13, whereinsaid step f) comprises the step of a user controlling movement of acharacter displayed as part of the linear story in amonkey-see-monkey-do fashion, and/or a user controlling talking of thecharacter.
 15. The processor-readable storage medium of claim 11,wherein said steps a) and c) comprise the step of displaying the linearstory and/or story branch in at least one of still-image panels, dynamiccomputer graphics animation and linear video.
 16. A system for combininginteractive gaming aspects into a linear story, comprising: anaudiovisual device for presenting at least one of images and an audionarration; an image capture device for capturing at least one of imageand audio data from a user; and a computing environment coupled to theaudiovisual device and image capture device, the computing environment:a) presenting the linear story via the audiovisual device using at leastone of images and an audio narrative, the linear story presented as acomplete story, beginning to end and including a default set of images,in the event no interaction by a user is perceived by the capturedevice; b) detecting an exploration gesture via the capture device; c)branching from the linear story to a story branch upon identifying theexploration gesture in said step b), the branching including: c1)sensing a point on the audiovisual device indicated by the user to be adesired viewing perspective, and c2) displaying the virtual object fromthe viewing perspective indicated in step cl).
 17. The system of claim16, the computing environment sensing the point on the audiovisualdevice indicated by the user by the capture device sensing a position ofthe user's head.
 18. The system of claim 16, the computing environmentsensing the point on the audiovisual device indicated by the user by thecapture device sensing a point indicated by the user's hand.
 19. Thesystem of claim 16, the computing environment branching back to thelinear story when the user gestures that they are finished examining thevirtual object.
 20. The system of claim 16, wherein the user is able toaugment a score associated with the user's experience in interactingwith the linear and branched story.